


the laws of gravity

by aestheticisms (R_Vienna)



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2013-12-03
Packaged: 2018-01-03 09:53:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1069075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_Vienna/pseuds/aestheticisms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's all about cause and effect. -- Henry, Robin. </p><p>("he probably cast a spell on you, and now that’s all you can think about."<br/>"he’s shit at magic, though."<br/>"and how do you know that?"<br/>"don’t question it."<br/>silence.<br/>"you’re awfully proud of that pun, aren’t you?")</p>
            </blockquote>





	the laws of gravity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [toska](https://archiveofourown.org/users/toska/gifts).



"He’s not even that cute."

“I know, I know, but everyone loves him. I have yet to meet a girl who isn’t waiting in line for a chance to get the royal dick.”

“Does Panne not count?” A shuffle of papers and clothing, the back room of the library is too small for two seniors with wiry frames and long arms. A hit to the shin here—Sorry, Henry—a jab to the elbow there—Ooh, that looks like it’s gonna bruise. Do you think you’ll bleed?—yes, the back room wasn’t a good place to get dressed for job interviews.

“She’s not within the immediate Chrom friend group.” A pause. The sound of a zipper getting stuck half way up a black dress, and the string of curses typical of the realization.

“Zip me up,” Robin hisses in between complaints. Henry does as asked, fingers fidgeting with the silver clasp before pinching the back fabric together to zip it up all the way. “I was talking about the girls in his immediate vicinity.”

“That can’t be true, the crazy lady wouldn’t like him.”

“Olivia? Hah! She’s absolutely head over heels for that boy.”

He deflates at that revelation. Robin _tsks_ and turns to face the boy, she fixes his tie and ruffles his platinum blonde hair.

“Tuck in your shirt.”

Henry rolls his eyes and does as suggested. His dark eyes run a quick diagnostics scan, Robin does a little half turn in her heels before offering an inquiring glance.

“Do I look all right?”

“Ooh girl, you’re going to kill ‘em.”

"That sounds awful coming from you." Robin grants him a smile, and dusts off his shoulders, his blazer now pristine and without any signs of lint. "You look good, too. We’re definitely getting these jobs."

With another laugh, they trip over each other, an awkward tangle of limbs and starched suits, and exit the library back room. They go to their respective job interviews, not before getting a slightly incredulous eyebrow raise from Miriel, the head library aide.

"Good luck, Henry!"

"I can probably curse myself with good luck, would that be a good idea?"

"No, it would not."

* * *

 They don’t get the jobs. Robin’s overqualified, and Henry’s underqualified, and they’re back at square one, kicking their legs over the edge of the school roof. Their silver hair provides no protection against the bright sun, Henry’s been mumbling spells and hexes for the last ten minutes, under the impression that Robin had an umbrella and would eventually pull it out. She does not have an umbrella. If she did, it would’ve been out by now.

None of these concerns are ever voiced, both parties are still nursing their bruised egos.

"I hate autumn." Robin says, peeling off the standard black uniform sweater native to their school. She throws it to the side, on top of her brown messenger bag, and leans forward, elbows on her knees, chin on her hands, eyes narrowed and focused on something far, far away in the Ylisstol cityscape.

"It’s not a great season," Henry admits, with a shrug, noncommittal and nonchalant. "Everything’s in between living and dead, and I’m the worst at limbo."

Robin snorts. Henry laughs one of his characteristic _nyahahahas_. They watch the sun come and go, another idle school day going on without them.

* * *

 "He’s still not that cute, I’m trying to wrap my head around him." Robin purses her lips, humming something discordant, brown eyes flickering with annoyance. Irritation. Henry knew her tells awfully well, she is an open book. The silver-haired girl’s preoccupation with Ylisse High’s prince was fascinating, but had a very simple answer.

She is obviously hexed.

"Well, it’s all about _caws_ and effect! He probably cast a spell on you, and now he's all you can think about."

"He’s shit at magic, though."

"And how do you know that?"

"Don’t question it."

Silence.

"You’re awfully proud of that pun, aren’t you?"

Henry raises his arms up, bends backwards until he hears a telltale pop from his back. He gives his silver-haired, pig-tailed companion a closed eyed grin, airy chuckles slipping from his pale lips.

"I am, I am! But that’s not why we’re here today—but if we’re going to be analyzing my wide selection of incredible jokes and puns, I've got a _reaaaaaaal_ good one!—we’re here to organize books. And talk about Chrom, probably."

Robin lets out a year-long sigh. Henry reminds her that sighing will only make you older, and that she was going to give Cordelia a run for her money.

He narrowly misses the anthology of poetry she throws at him.

"Robin, you suck." Henry picks up the book and waves it around a bit. "Now this is farther away than it needs to be from its shelf."

"It’s not like Miriel cares, we do most of her job for her." Robin huffs, taking the book, and gliding down the hallways, until she reaches the literature club’s book shelf. She shoves the book into one of the empty spaces, and looks at her handiwork with a smug satisfaction.

"Contrary to popular belief, I can still hear you from the reference desk." The red-haired library aide’s steely voice floats from the front of the library to the desolate corner where Henry and Robin were. Shivers shot down their spines, and they decided maybe it was time to get some work done.

* * *

 "Henry!"

Oh dear.

The boy bids his farewells, Ricken gives him a questioning look and a half-said sentence, before the white-haired dark mage runs down the hall, lockers opening with his every step, papers and books flying from owner’s hands and onto the tile floor, leaving a mess of an obstacle course for the screaming girl. She shouts again, pulling up her hair into a ponytail before running after him. In her wake, students and teachers alike whisper.

“Isn’t that Robin?”

“What’s up with her?”

“Rumor has it she’s dating that creepy kid.”

“No way, she’s totally dating Chrom!”

“Chrom? I thought he had a thing with Gaius?”

“No, you’re definitely thinking last semester.”

"I swear to god, when I find you…" Robin’s threat falls on deaf ears, she skulks past empty classrooms and ignores wide-eyed lowerclassmen, carefully sidestepping the freshmen with their backpacks slung on one shoulder, their messy and unkept uniforms, and their gossipy snickers, near the school entrance, hungrily eyeing the school exit.

"Robin?"

Great.

"Hello, Chrom."

There were only two people in the entire school that didn’t abide by uniform regulations. Her, in her calf-length cloak, and Chrom. It was something one expected of the school’s MVP, today he wore a blue plaid flannel under the school blazer, rolled up to his elbows. She tries to play it cool, sure, it’s not like she just sprinted down a hallway, or anything. Nope. She was a master tactician in the making. This was not going to be a setback.

"Is something wrong? I heard you shouting down the hall, and came out to see what was up."

She glances at the glass door emblazoned with the Ylisse High logo, a shepherd surrounded by technicolor sheep. Then she looks back at Chrom. Then back at the door.

She really needs to get going.

"Everything’s fine, commander." She slips a smirk, anything to get him off her case. He runs a hand through his blue hair, and smiles back.

"Commander seems like a pretty hefty title for a one-time hockey game."

"It’s appropriate. Listen, I gotta go Chrom, thank you, um. For checking up on me. That’s really nice of you." She turns to go.

He grabs her gloved hand.

"Um, listen, Robin. sorry, uh…if this is coming off as too forceful."

_REALLY. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS._

A blush settles on his cheeks, and Robin, despite her best intentions, feels her heart beat faster and faster until it’s making a racket in her chest.

"But do you, uh, want to hang out? Sometime?"

"Like a d-date?" Robin says the words before she can stop herself. It breaks the spell, she’s blushing, he’s sputtering, and good grief, Henry’s probably collecting roadkill by now!

"Yeah. Like a…like a date."

"Sure. Yes. I mean, yes."

That’s enough for him, his face is the picture of absolute joy. Oh lord. Oh _lord_.

"I’ll call you, or something, I really. Need to get going." Robin says, much to her own disappointment. She runs. He waves goodbye.

* * *

 "There you are, you little shit."

Henry flags her down, he’s crouching, playing with a puppy. Robin will not ask where he found this cute puppy. There is no point.

"Hi to you too, Robin. You look kinda sullen, did you have a run in with Sully?"

"Hilarious."

Henry looks up from the pomeranian, and tilts his head at the grumpy girl.

"Are you upset?"

Robin slumps onto the park grass, tucks her legs underneath herself, and lets out a sigh, yes she was very upset.

"Oh. Huh. That’s kind of weird, I don’t get why though. Considering your major crush on Chrom, I thought it would’ve helped things speed along if I told him."

"Henry, I understand you thought you were helping, but that was really out of bounds." She puts her hands on her face and groans. "I mean, thank you for looking out for me, but. No. Ugh. Ughhhhhh.”

"Why are you upset though?"

"Henry, it’s a simple romantic pitfall, my state of upset stems from the basic human reaction to embarrassment."

"Oh."

She doesn’t like how his  _oh_  sits in the air.

He fidgets with his dark sweater sleeves, dark shirt collar. His hands hover over his too-short chinos, fingers tap against the fabric. She’s never seen him so out of character, without his trademarked grin and closed-eye smugness.

“Henry, what’s up?”

“Nothing.”

The dog bounces away, a little puff ball lost in the tall grass. The boy stands up, straightens himself out, and offers a hand to the sitting girl. Robin takes it.

They walk to a park bench and sit down, shoulders pressed against each other. The girl crosses her legs, and the boy leans forward, slouching, soft hair pooling over his eyes.

“Sorry for snapping.” Robin says after a stretch of silence, after watching the last couple of geese in the pond across from them disappear into the twilit sky.

“It’s fine.” Another shrug. “It doesn’t bother me. Emotions aren’t my forte.”

A tight lipped smile.

They sit in silence for the rest of the afternoon.

* * *

 “Have you guys seen Henry?”

Olivia and Maribelle close their lockers and look at the silver-haired girl, huffing and puffing and caving in on herself. Olivia tucks a strand of braided pink hair behind her ear, hopping on one foot to the other, while Maribelle fishes a silk scarf out of her purse.

“No.” The blonde lilts, a little too snippy for Robin’s taste. Olivia offers an apologetic look.

“Sorry Robin, I haven’t seen him…he wasn’t in homeroom today. Oh!” The girl’s eyes light up, and she immediately shuffles through her satchel, taking out three pieces of paper. “These are for him, they’re senior event stuff. our teacher passed them out today.” Olivia blushes, her face burning bright red. “Oh, sorry! Um, I mean, I'm giving them to you because you’re with him all the time, and you guys have library together so, um, ah…I didn’t mean to be pushy or anything!”

Robin laughs, and takes the papers. “Don’t worry about it, Olivia. Thank you. I’ll try to get these to him.”

Maribelle sniffs, and gives the girl a curt nod before walking away. Olivia follows her, but not before throwing Robin a smile.

The hallway was empty, cold. Without the usual mess of students running to and fro to their classes, Robin feels awkward standing in the middle of the black and white tiled sea. Winter break was upon the students of Ylisse High, and things were dark and dreary outside the glass doors.

And she can’t find Henry. Ever since their dumb argument a week earlier, he suddenly stopped coming to their usual spots. His classmates were unsure of his whereabouts.

Everything was coming up dead roses.

Awesome.

Robin decides she should just head home. She walks past Frederick and Sumia, making obnoxiously adorable googly eyes at each other and whispering sweet nothings underneath the pretense of chemistry formulas. She walks past Chrom, who’s making his way towards her, oh, not today for god’s sake.

She picks up her pace and pantomimes a cellphone, _I’ll call you later_ , she says and waves him off. He looks like a lost puppy. She tries to ignore it.

It takes her a couple of hours, two cups of coffee, and a frantic sprint across the railroad tracks that separated the us from the them, to find Henry. He was at the lake’s edge, toes skimming the surface, back to the ground, head tilted skywards.

“Henry, where have you been?”

“Oh, hi there, Robin!” He does not look at her.

“Don’t ‘ _oh hi_ ’ me!” Robin falls, staining her white knee socks green with grass and dirt, hands breaking her fall. “I’ve been worried sick. You don’t call, you don’t answer my calls, what the hell happened to you?”

Henry shrugs.

“I just didn’t feel like seeing you.” He struggles to find the right wording, it comes out a lot harsher than he wanted it to. His fingers splay out on his stomach. "I mean, I wanted to see you, but I felt like you didn’t want to see me.”

“Henry, you’re my best friend.”

“I mean, it’s not just because of our dumb argument. I don’t know why, but ever since you started talking about Chrom, I felt this awful thing in the pit of my stomach. I’m not sure why, but it made me…upset? I think? I just knew that if i saw you, I would feel worse. I mean, I'm all for pain and blood and guts, but this just didn’t feel good.”

His voice takes on a more dreamy quality, he describes something Robin knows only too well.

Jealousy.

She lays down next to him, her silver hair fans out and makes a halo around them. She looks up.

The sky is periwinkle, dusted by clouds that threatened rain and thunder for the next few nights. The air tastes like winter, tastes like ice and melancholy.

“But it didn’t feel any better when I didn’t see you. Haha, what a joke.”

She turns to face him, tilts her head ever so slightly, trying to catch his eye, looking for something. Anything.

“It’s awful, not knowing what you’re feeling, Robin.” He says, laughing. “It’s absolutely awful.”

His eyes glisten with unshed tears.

She doesn’t know the feeling. She cannot sympathize. She is known for being able to micromanage every emotion she felt, she could pinpoint the exact stimuli and response.

It was all about cause and effect and…

“I think you’re in love with me.”

A reaction.

“Maybe.”

Sadness does not suit Henry.

His eyes close. She takes his hand.

The silence consumes them.

* * *

 

The library is quiet, uncharacteristic for the first day of winter finals. Miriel is shelving books, her glasses fog up with every breath she exhales into the folds of her knit scarf.

She misses her two unofficial aides. After the holidays, they sent in their transfer requests. Henry ended up relocating to the history department, and Robin finally got the internship at the capitol building.

Things were looking up for them.

Miriel pushes her silver frames up on her nose, and looks towards the east, out the bay windows and towards the main school building.

The sun burns the world gold.

**Author's Note:**

> forrrrrr aq's birthday, mostly because henry's her favorite, and i wanted to write something about the interesting relationship between robin and henry. (sighs) (sighs happily) happy 18th sweetie!!!!!!


End file.
